What to Consider While Setting Your Wedding Budget

By | 2018-06-15T18:55:43+00:00 March 24th, 2016|Categories: Resources, Wedding Planning|0 Comments

Now that you’ve become engaged, you may have a flurry of questions entering your mind. There may be questions such as “Who should we invite?” or “How many people should be at the wedding?”. Don’t worry, in this article, we shall identify three things you should have at the beginning of your list when producing a wedding budget.

Wedding Couple Setting Budget

First, start having the big talks. You and your fiancé need to agree on three things.

What is the dream wedding? Set aside some time to discuss the ideal theme, size and time of the year. Be limitless and list everything you both want. If a destination wedding on a Hawaiian beach with 300 guests is what you’ve dreamed, place it on the list. If it turns out you both want different things, start looking for common ground. Ask each other why this idea is so important. When you understand the importance of each other’s ideas, this will help you get on board or compromise.

Once you have established the vision, let’s talk priorities. What details hold the most value? Is it a particular music band you both enjoy? Is a particular caterer a must? Keep these thoughts in mind when you are setting budget and deciding on your venue.

Have the money talk. You cannot plan anything until you know your budget. Try to think of it as what you can afford as opposed to what it will cost. Put together what you have, what you want to spend and how much family will contribute. Take that total and subtract twenty percent for un-expected costs.

Second, put your guest list together. Your guest list will directly affect everything from your catering through preparing your wedding invitations, so you need to figure this out immediately. Find out the maximum guests you can have at your wedding. Create a list of everyone who must be at the wedding. Subtract that “must be there list” from your maximum and divide that in half for you and your fiancé. If your parents and (or) your fiancé’s parents are contributing, get a “must invite list” from them. Remember to keep a little bit of a cushion for last minute guests. If your “must invite list” is bigger than your maximum, you may need to cross out names. If your parents are paying for most of the wedding and want to invite more guests than they are allocated, then you may need to cross out names from your list and your fiancé’s list.

Third, breakdown your budget. Now that you have your guest list set, you can begin breaking down your budget. Consider how much you want to spend on the following:

– Venue
– Photos
– The wedding dress and makeup
– music
– rings
– flowers
– transportation
– decor
– catering
– reception
– invitations
– wedding party gifts
– cake
– favors
– the groom’s tuxedo
– marriage license

Adjust the budget according to your priorities and be prepared to spend almost fifty percent on the venue and catering.

With the budget set, you can now begin the best part of the wedding planning, the sampling. Go out and visit the venue. Take in the scenery. Take your fiancé cake tasting. Enjoy the freebies you can get from your wedding.

About the Author:

Before joining Tungsten Rings & Co., Megan Schultz fell in love with wedding planning at the age of fifteen when she was a candle lighter at her favorite aunts wedding. She began planning her own wedding shortly after the event. Unaware of whom her future groom would be Schultz planned the entire event down to every single detail including the wedding favors. Her love of weddings expanded professionally as she built her own successful wedding planning business in Del Mar, California. Schultz has worked with many clients all over the country including some famous celebrities. Read More

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